WAUSAU – Source Code Systems of Wausau had big plans to develop software with help from a $50,000 loan from the city in August 2007.

Then the Great Recession hit, and the business took a turn for the worse, said John Koci, president and CEO. The company, which provides scanning and document management services, never repaid its loan.

"Unfortunately in 2008 I had to declare bankruptcy and then I had one of my homes foreclosed," Koci said. "That was the collateral for (the loan) and I lost my home."

The entire amount of the loan was written off in February 2009.

"This recession and Obamacare killed me in terms of my clients and losing business, so it's been a bad stretch," Koci said.

Despite his best efforts, Koci said sometimes things don't work out.

"We don't like to have debt," he said. "You try to do everything you can to be responsible but sometimes the economic situation is such that it really hampers your ability to make it happen."

Written-off publicly financed business loans in north central Wisconsin since 2004